Speaking Loudly, with Pride, and Clarity

First off, I think your son is obviously embarrassed by his speech. That's somewhat normal for kids with artic disorders. Do the exercises your sons SLP recommended, but otherwise drop verbal focus for a bit. Instead, see about speaking softer yourself and as a family. Not mumbling, just softer so your son doesn't feel like odd man out. Also, get him into some type of activity he's good at so he can work on his confidence that way. Make sure you praise him often about other things. If necessary, put lack ofunderstanding on yourself: "my ears must be getting old, can you say that again?". Takes pressure off him. No need for a new therapist unless your son isn't making any progress. Those sounds are palatal and can take a while to master. Plus, therapy takes awhile. Also, when school starts, talk to your SLP and see what other suggestions she has. Sometimes, kids don't mumble for their SLP's because therapy is a safe zone and they fit right in with the other kids. Be patient and positive!

You may also want to get his hearing checked. And also look into other speech therapists. And if you are using the school speech therapist, maybe start using one out of school or see if he can see her before or after school. I was a very bad mumbler and had to go to the school speech therapist it was embarrassing for me. I didn't like that other kids seeing that I was in there and knowing why I was in there. So a became a very quite kid.

Talk to your pediatrician. Get a referral for a different speech therapist. They are NOT all the same. Sometimes you will have to try a few before you get a good "match".

If he cannot pronounce words correctly and he knows it, then he is NOT going to speak loud with clarity and pride.

If he speaks loud and clear, he knows his mistakes will be acknowledged and pointed out to him. Maybe he's embarrassed or just doesn't like to be corrected.

First comes the correction of his speech, later comes the ability and willingness to speak loud and clear with "pride" as you say and, yes, with confidence!

Good Luck!

My 8yo does this same thing. We stop him, make him look at us and and speak so that we can hear him, and this one is important- slow down. He often is speaking so quickly we can't catch what he is saying.

We make him order his own food in a restaurant and tell him to look at the waitstaff, speak clearly and loud enough that she can hear him but not too loud to disturb other people.

It just takes practice.

Good luck!

Hi A.
I am sure you have had him checked for hearing ..if not please do- and if he has been in speech therapy for 4 years and has not made significant improvement I would suggest changing therapist. I would think there would be better results by this time........you might try voice lessons- singing makes you use your diaphram.......
good luck and blessings

I've been taking my sons to speech therapist for 21 years now (not consecutively, they are 16 years apart in age). I've seen speech therapy done several different ways over these years. If your son is only receiving speech therapy through the schools, then I strongly encourage you to get him with a private speech therapist for the summer. Perhaps a man, although there are very few. A new speech therapist really can make a difference. I saw this same thing in my older son. It was caused by his self-consciousness and the fact that so many children teased him about his speech. The quiet speaking began to turn into anger, but then a speech therapist (new) helped him work through that. He is now a happy college student with clear speech. Our younger son has a fabulous speech therapist in Deer Park who I would gladly recommend, however the drive may be a bit much for you.

I would first recommend that you find a different speech therapist. My 5y/o daughter goes to speech therapy and we started off w/ her first therapist in April. I gave the therapist three chances, before I requested someone else in the same clinic. After the first visit w/ this new therapist, actually w/in the first few minutes of therapy, I noticed a marked difference in her approach and my daughter's response. I love this therapist's technique. She was a definite match for my daughter and her progress has been great in only 4 visits. We go once a week for 30 minutes. She thinks my daughter will not need therapy any longer come August. I hate to think about the amount of time and money I would have wasted if I had stayed w/ the other therapist. Sometimes change is good. If you want her name, just e-mail me back. We see her in Georgetown, but I know she works in Austin, too. She is awesome.

Next, get his ears checked. A lot of children w/ hearing problems tend to mumble also. Just a thought. May not be anything, b/c my 8 y/o mumbles sometimes, too. Or she just starts to talk too fast and ends up going in circles or has long pauses in between because she is thinking. She did this a lot when she was 6, not so much now. I repeatedly had to tell her b/f you start talking think about what you want to say and then say it. This worked after several reminders. Now she talks too much.

The next thing I would suggest is to sing the song, "John, Jacob, Jingle Heimer Smitt." This song has kids sing softly and then progressively get louder and louder, then softer and softer again over and over. Maybe he just has to hear himself. If he enjoys singing maybe you can get him voice lessons. They will definitely teach him how to use his diaphragm.

I believe once you get his speech under control he will not have a problem speaking loud and clear.

Try a speech therapist for a little while. It seems like a minor issue, but sometimes us moms are too close to the situation to help. That will help with the blended sounds and maybe the volume. If you cannot afford it, do it at the school. Also, you may want to look into whether or not there is a Toastmasters club for kids in your area.

When school starts or before if you know his teacher, get him involved in UIL Poetry. They teach them to speak slowly, pronounce each word and in a "just right" voice level.
At our school, they usually have 5-10 kids try out but only 3 make it so make it clear to him that he may not make it but it will be good practice for him. My daughter has done this since 3rd grade and is now a senior in high school and winning UIL medals!!!

When I was younger I mumbled a lot but I also loved to sing. My music teacher broke my mumbling by telling me it wouldn't work out because noone could understand me. I asked what I could do to make it better and she told me that when I sing, I should be able to fit three fingers in my mouth. That got me annunciating in singing and just naturally made talking easier for me. You may just need to relate it to something he is interested in. I hope I've helped.

Has your pedi ruled out any problem with his diaphram that maybe he's just not getting enough air?